There’s no need to have an in-depth knowledge of the Chinese culture to appreciate the works of Liu Ruo Wang. Although deeply rooted in the traditional concept of his land, his works possess an energy and power that makes them understandable to anyone. Mostly, because of a tendency towards gigantism that leads the artist to conceive large-scale works, capable of polarizing the environment and space through a simple and sublime narrative that fits the classic myth in the context of today’s globalized civilization. Whoever had the good fortune to see Black Wolves, a herd of nearly one hundred wolves in iron, full size and with jaws wide open and bleeding, understands what I mean.

That installation, exhibited in the San Marino Pavilion at the Venice Biennale of 2015 and the same year at the University of Turin (in collaboration with the Confucius Institute), shows some of the typical features of Liu Ruo Wang’s sculpture: the scenic impact, the dramatic tension, the dynamism, but also a certain solemnity. Whether it is the herds of ravenous wolves, like those of Black Wolves and the previous Wolves Coming or of a group of primates that look like escapees from a sequence of the Planet of the Apes, as is the case of Original Sin, or even of fighters peacefully absorbed in meditation (Melody) and heavenly avengers that demolish the modern weapon of mass destruction (Heavenly Soldiers), hypertrophic the subjects sculpted by Liu Ruo Wang have something remarkable and fabulous. Perhaps because, as a child, in the village of Jia, located in northern Shanxi province, a mountainous region crossed by the Yellow River, Liu Ruo Wang was used to listen to the stories of his grandfather, stories about monks and warriors, magicians and thieves inspired by the classics of Chinese literature.

Aside from the great novels of Chinese tradition, another important source of inspiration for Liu Ruo Wang, were the comics of his older brother, who finally gave a face to the protagonists of the stories of his grandfather. Therefore, the history, mythology and folklore still alive in the rural community of Jia were to shape the imagination of the young Liu Ruo Wang, stirring deep respect for warriors and legendary heroes. Later, after the attendance of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and the followed transfer into the capital, with that imagery he engaged an artistic consciousness sensitive to the problems of contemporary society, dominated by scientific and technological progress, but increasingly in conflict with the natural order. The feeling of an offended nature, hurt by profound alterations to the ecosystem is a continuous uncontrollable process of human activity, evident in many works of Liu Ruo Wang dedicated to the animal world. Beyond the easy to decipher metaphor, it’s clear that the furious herds of Black Wolves and Wolves Coming can be interpreted as representing the harsh response of nature to the devastation brought by man. As well as the giant primates of Original sin, lined up in a row, with their eyes turned to the sky in a kind of silent prayer, are symbols of the early humanity, uncorrupted by civilization.

And what about the sculptures dedicated to Dodo, the funny Columbiformes extinct because of the destruction of their habitat by the Dutch and Portuguese colonists? There is no doubt that all the work of Liu Ruo Wang is covered by a thin line of criticism against a world devoted to self-destruction. Liu Ruo Wang is not only a sculptor, but also a painter with a strong propensity towards the large size. In his paintings in central focus the portraits of monkeys, lions and leopards are interspersed with scenes depicting the animals immersed in a wild and sublime collection. As in his sculptures, expressivity prevails in his paintings as well, on the mimetic fidelity and verisimilitude that give way to the power of the image. The animals, even the most ferocious, become the emblems of a pure, untouched world that is about to disappear, the trove of values, just like the myth of heroes, no longer belonging to our age.

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